Division of Debts
Division of Debts
In divorce, the court is required to distribute any community debts. Most debts acquired during marriage, with possibly a few exceptions, are community debts. Some examples include:
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Mortgages;
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Business debts;
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Personal loans;
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Credit cards;
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Student loans;
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Car and vehicle loans; and
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Loans against 401k plans; ​
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The Momentum Law Group works to help its clients obtain the best possible division of debts.
What debts are not community debts?
Debts that were not obtained for any community purpose are not generally community debts. For instance, if one spouse took out a loan in order to give jewelry to his or her girlfriend/boyfriend, this would not generally be considered a community debt. Debts that are not community debts are not divided. They are generally assigned to the spouse that incurred it.
Debts from before marriage.
If a debt was acquired prior to marriage, or can be traced to a debt from prior to marriage, then it is not a community debt. In some cases, a spouse might be entitled to reimbursement if a debt from prior to marriage was paid off with money acquired during marriage.